The Age of Steel

WellВ…that was Doctor Who in summer blockbuster mode. Following the general rules of blockbusters it was cinematic and epic but for me the whole was less than the sum of its better parts. I did feel it was less effective than Rise Of The Cybermen and that might have been down to some slightly uneven pacing and Graeme Harper trying a little too hard to make his compositions over stylish to the extent that some of the visuals were perhaps too self-conscious. A number of the group shots did seem rather artificially posed and that tended to lift me out of the moment at times.

There were also a number of effects shots at the end of the episode which were re-used footage from В‘RoseВ’ and again, this tended to detract from the story. Also, much as I have admired Murray GoldВ’s music for the series, there was a rather gratuitous looping of themes during MickeyВ’s departure scene that took a little of the impact away and could have been more subtly used.

However, there were some astonishingly good scenes in this that more than make up for the odd bits of pacing and visuals. A number of pivotal scenes merit further discussion. The episode really hangs on the moment when Mickey witnesses the death of Ricky. He recognises that he has a destiny and you see him steel himself (no pun intended) for what is now required of him. The hero of Series 2 matures out of the awkward young man of Series 1. This self-recognition is then very cleverly underlined in later pieces of dialogue: В‘Rose, IВ’m coming to get youВ’, echoing the Doctor himself from В‘Parting Of The WaysВ’, and В‘I once saved the universe with a big yellow truckВ’ as a parallel from the same episode. In essence, the Doctor has once again shown someone how to better live their life.

The entire sequence with the Doctor and Mrs. Moore making their way through the tunnels and past row upon row of Cybermen was very atmospheric and unsettling. LumicВ’s own Terracotta Army all waiting to go and each of them forged from the the Promethean fire of his Battersea factory. This was the descent into the Underworld, a symbolic journey to psychologically restore life to the lifeless, to recover and restore the disparate parts of the body and the mind. The scene tests the mettle (pun intended) of our heroes as they enter the literal unconscious world.

Hence, the crucial scene with the Cyberwoman. Some fans found this a little too sentimental perhaps but I saw this, and the less developed scene with the Cyber version of Jackie in the factory, as a really good attempt to show what was happening to human beings and how their emotional lives were being denied to them through LumicВ’s upgrade. The final twist to this was the Cyberman looking in the mirror and grieving for itself. I think these simple detonations of emotional recognition were just as impactful as some of the В‘realВ’ explosions happening elsewhere.

The themes of identity theft, of enforced emotional denial and of self-imposed changes of identity run through the episode. Pete turns out to be Gemini, a shadow version of himself and further highlighting his difference to the В‘fatherВ’ that Rose knew. Again this is underscored in the scene towards the conclusion of the episode where he rejects her as the daughter he never had. A clever inversion of В‘FatherВ’s DayВ’ which for me makes this more than a supposed trivialising of that storyВ’s themes and emotional impact.

Along the way, we again are given nods to В‘Genesis Of The DaleksВ’ moral arguments and it was interesting to witness a Doctor who appeared to have no compunction in resigning these Cybermen to their cruel fate. I found that a rather arresting contrast and IВ’m still not sure I liked the DoctorВ’s decision to turn technology against itself with the effect of shattering the fragile psychological state of the converted humans. A rather disturbing sequence for me.

Overall, the episode owes much to В‘MetropolisВ’ (the factory sequences) and Leni ReifenstahlВ’s В‘Triumph Of The WillВ’ (marching Cybermen). Lots of ladders and stairways in this too, enabling the running around bits to represent a journey from the Underworld (the Cold Store) to Olympus (the Zeppelin). There are also some lovely references to the original series with quotes from The Five Doctors (В‘above, between, belowВ’) and a visual joke at the expense of В‘InvasionВ’ where the Doctor seals the Cybermen in the Cold Store. Get back in your sewer!

Once again, this was NoelВ’s episode and he carried it very well. He will be missed. The ending was very fitting for the character of Mickey. HeВ’s found a sense of purpose with Jake and realises that heВ’s not going to find that with Rose and the Doctor. In effect, В‘heВ’s gone homeВ’ summed up all that the episode was striving to do with the character. Will this change the Rose/Doctor dynamic to any extent? From RoseВ’s selfish reaction at his departure, it would seem not.

And the shooting star? We are often told our destiny lies in the stars and is this conclusion just a visual coda to MickeyВ’s journey or does it have some other sinister connotation to the series conclusion?